We have been buying almond milk from costco in the recent months because it lasts longer and we aren't big milk drinkers around here... though none of us are allergic or need to stay away...I think there are just healthier options for calcium But, I am wondering what others' buy if not almond milk? I have been using the almond milk in many recipes calling for milk and it's been overall okay...however, I made a soup the other day that was a more milk-based soup, and it just didn't taste quite right with the almond milk.
I know there is rice milk...is that a good option for certain recipes? I know neither of these have much protein, which stinks...but they are overall healthier options than cows milk, right? (though I know raw cows milk is supposed to be good for us...but too pricey and not sure if the fam would go for it anyway!

Thank you for any thoughts or suggestions you may have!

__________________Leah, Jesus lover, wife to youth pastor Todd
and loving being a Homeschooling/SAHM to 6 boys!

We use soy. It works well for everything. I think rice is probably fine for most things. We have never used it. DD has a dairy sensitivity and Soy was recommend to us by her doc because it is closest in nutrition to cow. We don't do almonds (peanut allergy) or coconut (coconut allergy), rice has pretty much no nutritional value and hemp wasn't available to us when we started this adventure. We have researched soy and are personally comfortable with what we found.

__________________
SAHM to LR 7/26/07 and IHM 10/6/10, wife to a self proclaimed genius, ex-navy guy. Going places and doing things that I always dreamed of, but never imagined I would.

We use soy. It works well for everything. I think rice is probably fine for most things. We have never used it. DD has a dairy sensitivity and Soy was recommend to us by her doc because it is closest in nutrition to cow. We don't do almonds (peanut allergy) or coconut (coconut allergy), rice has pretty much no nutritional value and hemp wasn't available to us when we started this adventure. We have researched soy and are personally comfortable with what we found.

We do soy here too. Both DD and DS are sensitive to dairy, so DD drinks soy and I'm on soy for DS (BF'ing). Ped recommended it. We also tried goats milk, but it just smelled funky to me.

FWIW - Rice milk is actually not recommended for kiddos younger than 5. It actually says to discuss with your ped for kids under 5 right on the carton. I think it has to do with the lack of proteins and fats...? I used to drink it when I was nursing DD.

Great thanks everyone So where is hemp milk sold? I don't think I have seen it...?? Also, which brand of soy milk do you ladies use? Thank you for the tip about rice milk...that does make sense that it wouldn't be the best option for kids...plus it has more sugar in it than some of the others I think. So you ladies with the diary sensitive kiddos... you probably just don't make any recipes that call for a cup of milk/etc.? I am so trying to figure out what is the best option for us... buy diary milk sometimes and then other times rotate with soy, almond, and maybe hemp if I can find it...??

__________________Leah, Jesus lover, wife to youth pastor Todd
and loving being a Homeschooling/SAHM to 6 boys!

Great thanks everyone So where is hemp milk sold? I don't think I have seen it...?? Also, which brand of soy milk do you ladies use? Thank you for the tip about rice milk...that does make sense that it wouldn't be the best option for kids...plus it has more sugar in it than some of the others I think. So you ladies with the diary sensitive kiddos... you probably just don't make any recipes that call for a cup of milk/etc.? I am so trying to figure out what is the best option for us... buy diary milk sometimes and then other times rotate with soy, almond, and maybe hemp if I can find it...??

We usually just use store brand soy milk- Wal-Mart. We used to use Silk (you can get coupons online pretty often) but then we got the coconut allergy diagnosis and they make coconut milk as well. I trust their handling but store brand is cheaper and no risk for cross contamination. I do still buy single serve packs of silk when we go on road trips. I believe Hemp should be available in the shelf stable milk stuff, I have seen it once in our regular store. Should be available at a natural food store.

We do avoid making stuff that requires milk- not baked in, we do make a lot of pancakes. Until this year we used soy milk in "baked in" stuff. However this year (dd is 5) we were able to start using regular milk in "baked in stuff". Still no butter, drinking milk or cream stuff. For things like chicken pot pie I find it easier to to thicken chicken broth with flour rather than make a dairy free cream soup. Any kid of casserole that require cheese or cream soups or cups of milk we just don't make. I do make some cheesy stuff- I just separates dd's before the cheese is added. Like for lasagna I pull out some noodles and put sauce on them and she eats it like that. For stuff like strogonoff and alefredo again I just pull out dd's before I add the dairy- so for stroganoff she has meat, noodles, mushrooms and green beans seasoned with salt and pepper. And alfredo she has noodles and veggies. She has been eating this way since 1 so she is use to it. I even tried some vegan cheese mac and cheese and she would not eat it- she prefers her noodles just tossed in olive oil or "butter". Same with when I tried a cream soup casserole- she is just so use to eating things without creamy sauces that she won't even try them.

There are certain things that I will hunt down recipes for and experiment with to get it dairy free- pumpkin pie for one, we have a good recipe if your interested. I tried making condensed soy milk once and I made such a mess- besides who has time to spend 2 hours making condensed milk to then turn around and make the actual item.

__________________
SAHM to LR 7/26/07 and IHM 10/6/10, wife to a self proclaimed genius, ex-navy guy. Going places and doing things that I always dreamed of, but never imagined I would.

Not sure on cooking but I hear goats milk is ok. We drink lots of cow milk here besides switching my toddler from breast we used almond because didn't take cow right away from the bfing milk being one taste & cow another. We did coconut but seemed more sugar than anything. Never heard of hemp milk.

we use almond milk, but only name brands - Almond Breeze or Silk - b/c I've found the generic ones have a much longer ingredient list with lots of long words I can't pronounce. I also notice the off brands taste different to me, much sweeter.

Do you buy sweetened Almond Milk? Could that have maybe made the difference in your soup recipe?

I usually cook with fat free cow's milk. I keep a half gallon on hand for DH and for cooking. (DH will NOT drink almond milk)